


Enough

by ShadowoftheLamp



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Emetophobia, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Starvation, some disordered eating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-28 00:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18200828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: Four years after Battle City, Malik’s other self stumbles into Ryou’s apartment, too thin and starving, and Ryou tries to help.





	Enough

Ryou wasn’t sure what to do when Malik’s other half came stumbling into his apartment four years after he’d been banished to the shadows.

The fact that he’d barely managed to get a word out before collapsing on the couch certainly didn’t help matters.

So Ryou tested the heartbeat on his wrist- it was slow, definitely a not-healthy kind of slow- and tugged his ragged shirt up to check for wounds that might need to be bandaged. (He had blood all over, but from the erratic colors, a lot of it probably wasn’t his.)

He sucked in a breath at the sight, wincing. “Oh boy.”

Malik’s other half was wasting away- thick muscle had turned lean, and his ribs could be felt easily when Ryou brushed his fingertips across the dry skin. Ryou rushed to prepare something for him to eat, stirring together eggs and bacon for protein.

He knew that Malik’s other half was dangerous, of course. Because of him, he’d been knocked out for… a day? Two? Time had been funny in the shadows. Too long, that was for sure.

But no one was dangerous in the condition that he was in, at least not a dangerous that couldn’t be negated with a good slice to the throat, and the spirit’s skills with a knife hadn’t entirely faded when he did.

Besides, things had been awfully boring lately, and this was something new.

Ryou finished the eggs, pouring them into a bowl and settling down on the couch, passing it just above the other Malik’s face. He sniffed before his eyes blinked open- one and then the other. He jolted up, scrambling back and trembling.

“I made you some eggs.” Ryou said, holding the bowl out with a spoon. “You looked hungry.”

He stared for a moment. The hanging scraps of his clothing looked so pitiful that it almost hurt, like Ryou was the one who’d had his insides wasted away. Then, he lunged forward and grabbed the bowl, holding it close. He sniffed at it one more time before digging in.

Ryou simply watched as his guest wolfed the eggs and bacon bits down. He stood up to grab a comb and an extra shirt when the other Malik slapped a hand to his lips, pupils shrunk to pinpricks and cheeks ashen.

There was a garbage can close enough that Ryou managed to grab it just before the other Malik started retching, and he dropped the bowl of eggs in favor of curling his fingers around the rim of the can. Wet splatters sounded from it as he vomited into the plastic bag, and Ryou sighed.

“Maybe next time you could try going a little slower. I’m going to guess that you haven’t been able to eat in a while.” Ryou’s hand hovered over his back, but… somehow he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea from the scars he could see through the tears in the fabric.

He nodded slowly. “I… don’t know why I’m here.” He said quietly, voice laden with ash and scratchy from survival. “Did you summon…?”

Ryou shook his head. “I haven’t tried to summon anything in a while. It’s Friday the 13th and last night was a full moon, maybe the barrier was weak and you fell through.”

“Maybe.” He said, wiping at his mouth with his bare arm. Ryou stood up.

“I’ll get you some water. Swish it around and spit it into the trash, then I’ll change the bag.” Ryou said, feeling eyes follow him as he grabbed a glass and filled it up. He brought it back and the other Malik chugged the first half of it, before seemingly realizing that his mouth still tasted disgusting and using the rest to swish and spit. He shoved the can further down the couch towards Ryou and away from him, and Ryou pulled the bag out.

Other Malik curled a hand around his side, letting out a low hiss. “Feels even emptier… like fire.”

“That’s what happens when you throw up.” Ryou said, tying the bag off and bringing it over to the door so he could throw it out later. “From the look of your stomach, you’re malnourished, and your stomach probably couldn’t handle that much. I’ll make some toast.”

“Why are you… being so kind?”

Ryou shrugged. “You haven’t tried to kill me yet, have you? I can protect myself if you try, and I’d feel bad I pushed you out and you died on the street. So, toast.” He grabbed a bag of bread and untwisted it, slotting two pieces in and sliding the lever down. “Do you prefer butter or jam?”

“Jam.” He said, still sounding bewildered.

There was nothing for a few minutes, just the gentle thrumming of the heating system above and around them, before the toast popped up and Ryou spread some strawberry jam over it. He carried a plate over to the couch. “Try to have this one a little slower?”

The other Malik nodded, taking a big bite but also slowing his chewing a bit. He worked through the two pieces of toast and set a hand on his stomach. “Ugh, why do I feel full already? I need more.”

“You’re adjusting. If days pass the same there as they do here, you haven’t eaten well in four years. You’ll be able to eat more as time goes on, I’m sure.” Ryou hurried over to the closet, then tossed him an oversized band shirt. “Here, put this on. Your clothes are down to scraps.”

“You’re not taking them!”

“I’m not going to, but you’re shivering- at least put the shirt on over it.” Ryou said. The other Malik took his cape off, tugged the shirt on, then immediately pulled the tattered remains back around his neck, even though it was really more of a suggestion of a cape than anything at this point.

“The guest room has the monster world field in it and I don’t have a cot, but you can sleep on the couch.” Ryou tossed him a blanket from the closet. “If you’re really hungry, you can make yourself something, but be careful of the takeout leftovers, they’re like a week old.”

“You aren’t-”

“If you want to run, you can run, but I’ll be here in the morning.I’m locking the door to my room, but the front door’s open. ” Ryou said.

The other Malik gave a grin, but it was half-hearted and lopsided, like a broken doll. “As if that would stop me.”

“A good gust of wind could stop you, right now.” Ryou said, closing the door to his shocked expression.

__________

It was difficult to sleep. Not a surprise, with the guest he had, but Ryou had locked the door and propped a chair against it. He wasn’t getting in without Ryou knowing.

He turned over in bed, unable to get comfortable- all he could see was the scared look in those amethyst eyes as the other Malik had stared at him before collapsing.

“He’s fine. You fed him, he can figure the bathroom out.” Ryou said to himself. “As long as he doesn’t go out and drag a corpse back, it’s fine.”

Ryou managed to reassure himself enough to almost slip away to sleep, until at 3am he heard something slam in the living room, and he had the chair out and the door open before he even realized he was doing it.

Half the lights were on, and the bowl that had contained the eggs was sitting on the counter. The fridge was half-open, and the other Malik was gagging over the sink.

“What did you  _do?”_  He just heard more gagging and thick splatters.

Ryou grimaced at the sound, treading carefully as he walked over. Upon closer inspection, a few things had been pulled out of the fridge. A cup of yogurt was half-empty, there were about four slices of bread gone from the bag, and the cup of noodles he’d made to figure out what to do with later was gone. The little box of cookies he’d bought a few days ago was torn open and had crumbs scattered around it.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.

“I told you not to eat any more.”

“There was… no food. I… took it where I could get it.” He groaned, spitting out brown saliva. “There was so much, I…”

“'Ate yourself sick.” Ryou finished. “Come here.” He wet a wad of paper towels and dabbed at the other Malik’s face. He looked worse than before. “You’re not going to get any better if you do this.”

“My stomach hurt, I’ve been hungry for so long.” He mumbled.

“It was probably already full from the toast.” Ryou said, tossing the paper towels into the bin before leading the other to the couch again. He tugged the bin closer in case of any accidents, before setting his fingers on top of the other Malik’s stomach. He used his fingertips to gently massage it, feeling as much as hearing the acids inside gurgling as they tried to digest food no longer there.

“Not so hard!”

“If you don’t make yourself sick, this won’t hurt.” Ryou said, but softened his touch a bit. “Just… stick to simpler foods in small quantities for now. I know it must have been hard, but just throwing it all up again is going to be worse and it’ll hurt your throat.”

He got a nod, and pulled back. “All right. Your stomach is going to be really upset right now, so just a glass of water would be best.”

“I can get it.” He stood up on slightly wobbly legs, but managed to fumble for a glass and fill it up. He took it in a few big gulps, but didn’t throw up, so Ryou sighed and didn’t say anything.

Ryou used the faucet to clean the sink a bit as his guest slunk back to the couch. When he was done, he decided to leave the door to his room unlocked since Malik’s other clearly wasn’t in any state to attack him.

When Ryou woke up the next morning, the other Malik was sleeping on his side, hugging the pillow and with no sick in the bin. Small victories.

________

The next few weeks were give and take. Ryou had to concede a few times to giving Malik’s other something sweet or meaty, but only if he’d managed to keep from binging on whatever he could find, which included vegetables in the shared apartment garden. Slowly but surely, he lost the sharpness in his limbs and chest, started to look a little more human again.

Ryou didn’t mind sharing his space or his food. He made enough from his side job selling custom figurines, and had a tidy sum he’d set aside from when he’d gotten an allowance as a teen.

The other Malik was much better conversation when he wasn’t starved and half-feral, and Ryou found himself laughing at his jokes. They were often dark and creepy, and sometimes they were just bad puns that reminded Ryou of the Ring Spirit, so he grinned and made bad jokes right back. It was nice, not getting strange looks when you thought something was funny. They’d both been through hell, thinking clouds looked like roadkill sometimes wasn’t the worst way of coping.

Together they learned that he liked all kinds of sweet things, especially with honey, as well as burgers, and noodles with lots and lots of butter. Anything with lots of spice, although he usually had a big glass of milk ready in case it was too much.

He chose a name for himself- Amir, prince. They both liked it.

Sometimes, he still went overboard. When he’d forgotten to eat because he was playing video games with Ryou for too long, he’d raid the fridge while Ryou was in the shower, and Ryou had to soothe his stomach with soft rubs and reminders that there would always be enough food The words were never too harsh, though- Ryou remembered what it felt like when he awoke after the spirit hadn’t eaten in days. He couldn’t imagine having to deal with that for four years.

Amir ended up softer than Malik had been- not fat, but there was a definite bit of squish around his midsection before his eating habits started to level out. Ryou didn’t mind, and Amir didn’t seem to either, so Ryou just kept as many healthy foods around as sweets and things were fine. He wasn’t uncomfortable to brush against anymore, all skin and bone- he was enough.

Ryou liked having someone to cook for, and after a while, Amir insisted on learning, so he could make things for Ryou. That was nice too. He was a pretty good cook when he put his mind to it, and Ryou was more than happy to sample whatever he offered.

Two months after Amir had stumbled into his kitchen and passed out, Ryou brushed his fingers as they both reached for the popcorn at the same time. Amir glanced over at him, considering for a moment, before pulling the popcorn away and setting it on the side table next to the lamp.

Ryou was about to protest, before Amir tugged Ryou unto his lap and then set the bowl of popcorn on Ryou’s lap.

“There we go, now I’ve trapped you.” He grinned, wrapping his arms around Ryou so he still had easy access to the popcorn. Ryou leaned back against him, feeling a bit of cushion instead of the frighteningly skeletal figure that had been there before, and smiled.

“You’ve got me,” Ryou agreed as he grabbed a piece of popcorn and leaned his head up as he pressed it to Amir’s lips with a smile.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request that I really liked- I’d been meaning to do something similar for a while anyhow. I haven’t done any good hurt/comfort in ages. I'd really appreciate comments!


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